Bhutan

Dr. Bhim Rai and a patient.

Dr. Sanduk Ruit in Bhutan.

Since 2000, HCP has partnered with the Royal Government of Bhutan to develop a comprehensive system of eye care for the nation of over 700,000, supporting the sub-specialty training for eight Bhutanese ophthalmologists and dozens of paramedical staff in addition to providing more than 7,000 sight-restoring eye surgeries and distributing more than 10,000 pairs of reading glasses.

In 2011, Dr. Bhim Rai, Bhutan’s first vitreo-retina specialist, completed a 15-month fellowship at the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in Kathmandu, Nepal, and HCP procured specialized equipment for his new vitreo-retina practice at Bhutan’s National Hospital in Thimpu. As Dr. Rai was preparing to return to Bhutan, he overlapped with two Bhutanese colleagues that HCP sent to Tilganga who arrived for paramedical training in vitreo-retina.

Bhutan — Primary Eye Care Program

Cataract Surgeries

2011

2012

2013

Hospital-Based Surgeries

1,337

958

1,316

Outreach Surgeries

472

551

643

Total Surgeries

1,809

1,509

1,959

Goal for 2015 is 5,000 surgeries.

A Patient's Story from Bhutan

Tshering Penjor

Tshering Penjor, a Bhutanese student studying architecture in India, was injured during a friendly basketball game with fellow students. Following initial concern about the potential for permanent loss of vision, Tshering returned home to Bhutan and connected with retinal specialist Dr. Bhim Rai whose fellowship training HCP supported in 2012.

Tilganga’s Deputy Medical Director, Dr. Reeta Gurung, and a team of nine eye care professionals from Tilganga provided 90 cataract and four corneal transplant surgeries in Bhutan in early September 2012. The donated cornea tissue was from the Nepal Eye Bank at Tilganga. Read more.